A Cup of Tea
by Tanya Reed
Summary: Written for a challenge at OnceUponaLand. Regina gets a late night visitor. Takes place the evening after "It's not easy Being Green".


Regina sat staring at a glass of amber liquid. She hadn't taken a drink yet, though her intention had been to drink herself into oblivion. Her newly acquired trait of keeping her town safe and the knowledge that Zelena could return at any moment staid her hand.

She sighed and ran a tired hand over her forehead. It had been a hell of a day. Pain, both physical and emotional. Anger. And, surprisingly, hope. The whole foundation she'd built her life on since her marriage to the king had been shaken; she felt like half the woman she'd been when she woke up that morning.

Regina got to her feet, intent on pouring the liquor down the sink. Her hand was reaching for the glass when the doorbell made her pause. Frowning, she wondered who could be visiting her this late. A quick glance at the clock on her mantel showed it was after eleven. Surely the Charmings would all be dreaming sweet, sugary dreams by now, and she doubted Zelena would bother to ring the bell.

For a moment, she toyed with the idea of ignoring the bell and going to bed, but she shook the thought out of her head. Despite everything, she was still the mayor of Storybrooke, and someone could be bringing her information about Zelena.

When she looked through her peephole, she was surprised to see Archie Hopper standing on the other side. He looked nervous, his hands squeezing his hat between them. Regina hurried to open the door.

"Dr. Hopper!" she blurted.

He looked up and his face flushed. Quietly, he said, "Hello, Regina."

His tone was gentle. It was always gentle, which was one of the things she found so annoying about him.

"How are you feeling?" He managed to look both concerned and ashamed.

"You mean after being thrown through a window? I've felt better, but at least I'm not dead."

He swallowed and his hands tightened, making his knuckles turn white.

"If you've come to tell me to give the witch my heart, don't even bother to open your mouth. As long as there's a chance she will hurt Henry, I'm going to fight her with every breath I've got. You may as well go home."

She started closing the door but stopped when he cried, "Wait!"

"What is it now?"

"Please, let me in."

Her eyes widened. "You want to come in? At this hour?"

"I need to speak to you, and this isn't something that should be said with a door between us."

She searched his face for almost a minute before giving in. Moving out of the way, she said, "Fine."

He nodded his thanks and brushed past her. Regina noticed he smelled pleasantly of newly mown hay.

"We can speak in here," she told him as she led him through the house to the kitchen. Something made her add, "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

Regina smirked at the surprise his voice betrayed, knowing he couldn't see her face. As he sat down at the small space where Henry used to eat his breakfast, Regina started getting their tea ready.

"So, tell me, Cricket, what brings you here? Since you apparently don't want me to sacrifice my heart, what do you want?"

"I'm sorry, Regina." His words were barely audible but she could hear his sincerity.

She put down the mugs in her hands and turned to look at him. He looked sad and uncomfortable, but these were normal expressions for him. His life hadn't been much better than hers, but where she had turned evil, he had turned...into something else. It wasn't just the bug body, but the promise to himself that he would never purposefully hurt anyone else ever again.

She had trusted him once. It seemed like decades ago now. His kindness had drawn from her the truth about Daniel's death. If Henry's adoption had been the beginning of Regina's transformation, she was sure Archie's sessions had prodded it along faster and faster until it headed her towards this moment where they faced each other across a granite countertop.

"Did you change your mind about the tea?"

A small smile played along his lips, alleviating some of the worry in his eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what are you apologizing for?"

"The other day...at the meeting. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'm sorry I took their side against you when I knew how much you were trying to change."

Regina slowly blinked as she absorbed this. No one else in town had bothered to apologize. As a matter of fact, they probably all blamed her for bringing this second curse upon them just by existing.

"I'd done it once. I suppose it was logical for you all to assume I was up to my old tricks," she admitted. At the time, his insistence that she confess to a false truth had hurt her a little, but she understood it.

"But they don't know what I know, Regina." He leaned forward.

She tiredly braced herself against the counter. "What's that?"

"There's some good left in you. When you love, you love deeply. You desperately want a happy ending."

"You're talking about Daniel."

He nodded. "And Henry. You sent him away so he could have a good life. It makes no sense that you would come back to destroy it. I let myself be swayed by the words of others. For that, I am truly sorry."

Unable to keep looking at him, she turned back to their tea. "And you don't blame me for bringing Zelena here?"

"Her pursuit of you is like your pursuit of Snow White. Snow White wasn't to blame for your...uh...your obsession, so how can I blame you?"

"I don't think the others see it that way."

She finished up the tea and slid his across the counter. He put down his hat and picked up the mug, blowing on the contents. Archie was silent as he took a small sip, neither agreeing with nor denying her statement.

Regina studied him, thinking that thirty years ago, before Storybrooke, she might have enjoyed exploiting his vulnerability. She might have believed hurting him would lessen some of her own pain. Now, she saw one of the few people who had never lied to her and a man who had stood up to the scariest person he knew-Regina herself-to protect her son.

"I'm sorry, too," she said softly.

His eyes snapped to her face, widening. "What?"

She frowned. "I'm not allowed to be sorry?"

"Of course, Regina. I didn't mean..."

When he trailed off, she broke eye contact and rubbed her right eye wearily. "I am sorry. I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you the last time I remember having a conversation. I felt as if you had betrayed my trust."

"I shouldn't have spoken to Emma about you. I just wanted her to know you were trying."

She waved this away and continued, "I have one more thing to apologize for, and then we'll drink our tea and forget this awkward conversation ever happened."

"What's that?"

"I didn't come to see you when I discovered my mother hadn't killed you. I should have. I was...relieved."

He nodded, taking another sip. She watched him for signs of rejection. When there were none, she sat across from him with her own tea in her hands. After several moments of silence, she said, "So, here we are."

"The Evil Queen and the cricket," he agreed, watching her face.

She scowled but not deeply. Hopper smiled gently to take any possible sting out of the words.

"I suppose," she answered eventually.

"I would like it if we could be friends." He was still watching her face.

"Why?" It came out more curious than demanding.

"I think you could use one."

She didn't argue that she had always needed one. The way she was before had never been conducive to friendship. "Aren't friends supposed to be able to trust each other?"

"I'll work on it if you do."

He sounded so earnest. She considered his words carefully before replying, "We can try."

Hopper smiled again, more widely, so his eyes crinkled at the corners. Regina couldn't help but smile back.


End file.
